Postmortem
- 364
- Pages
- about 7 h
- Reading time
- Edgar Allan Poe Award for Best First Novel
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Our view
“Postmortem” is where the long Kay Scarpetta series begins: a dark, thoughtful murder mystery and the author’s first novel. Part of its interest lies in that origin, since it introduces a detective whose cases now fill more than twenty volumes. Some readers find it dull and give up before the story takes hold. At around 360 pages, the natural way in for anyone who wants Scarpetta from her first case.
The view of the BookRank editors, written from readers’ ratings and comments. It does not affect the score or the book’s place in a ranking.
About the book
Postmortem is a 1990 crime fiction novel by author Patricia Cornwell and her debut novel. The first novel of the Kay Scarpetta series, it received the 1991 Edgar Award for Best First Novel.
Reading order · Kay Scarpetta
Full order & progress →- PostmortemThis book
7.57.5 / 10 - Body of Evidence
7.67.6 / 10 - All That Remains
7.67.6 / 10 - The Body Farm
7.77.7 / 10 - From Potter's Field
7.77.7 / 10 - Cause of Death
7.67.6 / 10 - Unnatural Exposure
7.67.6 / 10 - Point of Origin
7.77.7 / 10 - Black Notice
–Not ranked yet - The Last Precinct
–Not ranked yet - Blow Fly
7.57.5 / 10 - Trace
–Not ranked yet - Predator
–Not ranked yet - Book of the Dead
–Not ranked yet - Scarpetta
–Not ranked yet - The Scarpetta Factor
–Not ranked yet - Port Mortuary
–Not ranked yet - Red Mist
–Not ranked yet - The Bone Bed
–Not ranked yet - Dust
–Not ranked yet - Flesh and blood
–Not ranked yet - Depraved Heart
–Not ranked yet - Chaos
–Not ranked yet
Where the score comes from
The sources average 7.4 across 248 ratings — not yet many, so the reader vote carries 63% of the weight and the rest pulls toward the Crime & mystery average of 7.6. That is how 7.5 comes out.
| Source | Average | Ratings | Weight |
|---|---|---|---|
| Open Library | 7.4 | 22 | 9% |
| Hardcover | 7.5 | 226 | 91% |
Frequently asked
How long is Postmortem?
It has 364 pages — shorter than 68% of the ranked books in Crime & mystery.
In this book
Themes this book shares with others — each leads to the best books on it.
If you liked this
The same shelf — Crime & mystery — and a score of 7.5, the closest to this book.
